Mango, Apple & Cucumber Salsa

Hot summer days are upon us and to combat the heat, I've been making this cold and refreshing mango, apple and cucumber salsa to have on hand. I've eaten this with salmon, salads, enjoyed it with corn chips and as a taco topping over grilled meats. It just adds a nice zing and crunch to every bite.

Rainier Cherry Crumble

I love love love cherry season! Rainier cherries are my favorite because in addition to tasting good, they are also gorgeous to look at with their hues of yellows, orange and red. The Costco where I shop at were selling 3 lb. boxes of Rainier cherries for about $8 (a steal!) so of course I had to get some. While I've enjoyed handfuls of them as a quick snack or for dessert over the last week, I wanted to try them in a crumble.

Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Chips + a Korean BBQ feast!

As Gingham Girl mentioned in a previous post, one of our friends, E, hosted a wonderful Korean BBQ dinner at her home last week. I love Korean BBQ and it was so much fun to have had it in the comfort of her home with a bunch of our closest friends. Boy, did we pig out! I know I did. I brought fruit salsa with cinnamon chips for dessert but before we get to the recipe, I wanted to share some pics of our yummy Korean BBQ spread.

Banana Jackfruit Pockets

I just love bite size desserts. Everytime I attend functions at a hotel, or go to one of the buffets in Las Vegas, I always gravitate towards the dessert table first. Not only am I attracted to it because of how quaint they look but I think it serves the diner a practical purpose to serve them in small portions. Having them this way allows us to sample more than just one dessert rather than getting full on one regular sized serving. Inspired by Veggie Girl's Chocolate Wontons, I thought I'd create something petite for dessert.

Rustic Fruit Tart

Baking is a such a science. Oh, very much so. I used to watch Good Eats on the Food Network with such fascination because Alton Brown would break down all the ingredients and the processes into scientific explanations. It all makes sense, really. If you think about it, food ingredients are merely scientific components that come together to create a reaction...wonderful, yummy reactions. The key is to do it right and practice makes perfect.